Austria Beer Guide

Try Austria's finest beers

Austrian Brew: Austrian beers have a lot in common with their South German or Bavarian counterparts, but varied brewing styles differentiate their flavor. In Austria, only beers brewed to at least 5 percent alcohol are labeled full strength with anything 4 percent or under labeled as light – or as the bottle would say, leicht.

Märzen: This is the Austrian word for Lager, which is the everyday beer of most breweries and is a malty, relatively mildly hopped golden beer containing 5 to 5.5 percent ABV.

Pils: This is the second most common type of beer, especially on draught. Pale yellow in color, very light in body, and relatively high in alcohol; the flavor leans more towards spice rather than being a straight bitter.

Gold beer: This range of brews is bitterer and fuller bodied. Some say they’re comparable to American premium beers such as Bud or Miller.

Spezialbier: These are about 6 percent, pale yellow, full bodied, malty and hoppy.

Bock: Amber or pale brown containing 6.5-7 percent alcohol with a very full body and bittersweet flavor.

Weizen or Weissbier: German style wheat beers containing about 5 percent alcohol are also brewed in the west of Austria and are either pale yellow or amber in color. The flavor is light and spicy with a very mild hop taste.

Keller or Zwickl: Unfiltered (cloudy) complex flavored lager beers, which are unlikely to be found at an airport bar as they’re more delicate than standard beers and require special storage.

Thirst quencher: If ever in doubt for what to drink, just ask for a Pils!

A New England native but explorer at heart, Melisse has lived in four U.S. cities, spent a summer in Hawaii, made her way through wine-producing regions in Australia and New Zealand, and traveled around Europe while studying abroad in London. She is the Content Manager for the U.S. and Canada at Cheapflights.